Page 56 of Tattle Tail
She pressed the side of the gash together and used an adhesive bandage to keep it closed. Finished, she looked up at him. His face was abnormally pale, the color drained away.
“You are ridiculous, and do not squirm,” she said, applying gauze over the wound. “Human skin is poorly designed. If you do not have enough water, it dries out. Too much, and it wrinkles. Exposed to sunlight, and it burns. What is the benefit of this? I am not surprised that humans took needles and thread to themselves. It makes as much sense as anything else.”
“We’re very good at turning UV exposure into vitamins.” He almost sounded delighted to have her fuss at him. “And don’t diss traditional Earth medicine. It kept my people alive.”
“Barely.” She finished wrapping his arm. He would need a medic, but at least the bleeding stopped. “Rest.”
While he slept, she tended to her injuries.
* * *
In the hours that followed,he developed a fever. Pale and skin clammy, he moaned on the couch. She changed the bandages. The wound on his arm was a stark red against his pale skin.
The medical kit had fever-reducing medication, but she worried about infection. With no antibiotics, there was nothing she could do.
She made him drink a glass of the horrible granulated orange drink—traditional Earth medicine—and made soup. After a few spoonfuls, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. She coaxed him awake and made him take a few more spoonfuls. Then more sleep.
When he woke, his fever burned hotter. The wound was swollen and producing pus. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing, but it smelled foul, like death. Carefully, she cleaned the injury again and changed the dressing. More fluid, despite his protests. She mopped his brow with a damp cloth, hoping the cool water would help.
He reached for her with his good hand. “I love you so much.”
The earnestness in his voice alarmed her. “Joseph—”
“I know emotions are running high. I got venom, antivenom, and a crap-ton of hormones in my system, but I know what I feel. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it.”
“Joseph—”
He continued to speak over her, his eyes glassy with fever. “You’re amazing. I honestly don’t even know why you talk to a ship rat like me, but I’m so lucky you do. And I will spend the rest of my days doing whatever I can to make you happy.”
“No,” she said, realizing what he was doing. “You do not get to do this. You are not saying goodbye.”
“Sweet pea, you can’t order an infection to go away.”
She damn well could try. “You are being overdramatic, as usual. You will rest and you will recover. Then you will take me to Earth, and we will have real orange juice, not this powdered drink.” She made a scoffing noise. “It is an insult in a glass.”
He laughed weakly. “It’s a date.”
She loved this male, and the universe was a cruel, unjust place if it took him away just as she found him.
Helplessness overwhelmed her. She didn’t have the right tools, training, or even the ability to look up how to treat an infection on the network. She had a half-empty medical kit designed to treat trivial injuries, and there was nothing she could do.
The sound of claws clattering along the roof of the ship filled the silence.
There was one thing she could do.
Ransom be damned.
Joseph didn’t have the luxury of waiting. She would not lose him.
She pressed the button to activate the distress beacon. A graphic filled the screen, a green dot moving slowly away from the ship, then repeating. The signal might not be strong enough to break through the interference from the asteroid belt. Had that happened to the original colonists when the mornclaws arrived? Had they sent distress signals and waited for help to arrive? Or had they decided it was a lost cause and left?
Leaving was not an option for her or Joseph.
She hoped someone, anyone, was close enough to hear them.
Chapter 17
Peaceable
